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Extinct giant deer’s descendant found in UK

4 September 2005

UCL
(University College London) scientists have found that the closest living
relative to the extinct Irish Elk (giant deer) lives on our shores. The team
tested for DNA and skeletal features to prove that the giant deer - which
roamed across Europe and Siberia with prehistoric man and is the subject of
numerous cave drawings - has its DNA in common with the fallow deer, one of the
most widespread deer in the UK since their introduction by the Normans in the
eleventh century.

The
results, published online by Nature, contradict recent morphological studies (looking
at skeletal features) which placed the giant deer closer to the living red
deer. Professor Adrian Lister and Dr Ian Barnes, UCL Department of Biology,
prove the link with the fallow deer by basing their findings on DNA sequence
evidence taken from the long-extinct deer and an analysis of the key characteristics
it has in common with modern deer.

The
fallow deer (or Dama dama) is the last
surviving member of the megacerine (giant deer) fossil
group and has changed considerably since its prehistoric origins. Although its
lineage can be seen in the antlers - the fallow deer has the same flattened
antlers that the giant deer was renowned for – in size, the modern day deer is
comparatively small.

The
giant deer (or Megaloceros giganteus
– meaning gigantic antlers) lived from 400,000 years ago to its extinction 8000
years ago and would have towered over its descendant, reaching a shoulder
height of around two metres with antlers spanning 3.5 metres (10 feet).

Deer
from around the world (including the southeast Asian axis deer, the hog deer
and fallow deer) were DNA tested and their characteristics - such as antlers,
skull and teeth size & shape - were studied. Two giant deer were used; one
found in the Ballynamintra Cave, Waterford, Ireland which was around 13,000 years
old; the other taken from Kamyshlov Mire in western Siberia.

Dr
Lister said: “The fact that DNA survives in fossil bone that is thousands of
years old is an exciting bit of science in itself. Now we can analyse these
ancient DNA samples from the bones of a mammal that has been extinct for over
8000 years and show that they are directly related to a living deer – more
importantly we’ve found its closest living descendant.”

Notes
for Editors:

1. The paper “The phylogenetic position of the
‘giant deer’ Megaloceros giganteus” will be published online by Nature on
Sunday on 4 September 2005 at 18.00, 1300 US Eastern time www.nature.com

2. The paper authors are: A.M. Lister and I.
Barnes (the UCL Department of Biology) and a team at Trinity College, Dublin
who sampled DNA from the giant deer based in Ireland and a team based at Oxford
University.

3. UCL press office has pictures of the giant
deer’s antlers. Alternatively, photographers can visit UCL to take pictures.

4. For further information, a copy of the
paper, photos or interviews please contact Alex Brew at the UCL press office on
020 7679 9726 or a.brew@ucl.ac.uk. Out-of-hours contact 07747 565 056